Who We Are
The Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) is a New York City-based not-for-profit organisation that celebrates Caribbean literature and the region’s history of storytelling to the United States first, then wider global audiences. It is a showcase of culture as expressed through the pen of the storyteller and the voice of the poet.
Our vision is to create a platform for community ownership of the oral and written stories of Caribbean people. Historically, people external to the culture have owned the narratives of the Caribbean. The BCLF places power back to the Caribbean community and our griots to share our stories on our own terms. This is not only an ethical responsibility of the platform to Caribbean people; we believe that representation is important in New York City.
We celebrate our differences, and work to bring Caribbean people out from the shadows of exclusion to show the power of a collective platform to lift up our stories.
The BCLF’s capstone is an annual showcase of emergent & existing writers of Caribbean heritage for this purpose.
Mission
To showcase, promote, encourage and build a bridge to facilitate opportunities for Caribbean writers and the Caribbean storytelling tradition within the North American diaspora with a view of elevating the Caribbean literary canon’s prestige to the highest possible industry standards.
Vision
To see Caribbean literature seated at the table of the creative writing industry as an equal player, sharing equitably from its resources and being credited as the creative source and owner of the stories and culture of its people.
Goals
To increase the visibility of the classic and contempo- rary works of the Caribbean writer within the Brooklyn community and the Caribbean diaspora
To build a platform for community ownership of the oral and written stories of Caribbean people where they are encouraged and empowered to weave their stories
To take Caribbean stories into the future by utilising the latest technology-driven platforms to ensure reach, engagement and posterity
To kindle children's interests in the folktales of the Caribbean, foster pride in those of its ancestry, and develop curiosity and a sense of ancestral kinship with its stories and culture
To positively shape the global understanding of Caribbean culture and intellectualism as a beacon of diversity through the promotion of its literary works
To lessen the divide between the literature of the 4 major language groups in the Caribbean (English, French, Spanish, Dutch) and create a homogeneous appreciation for its works among all people
Support the BCLF HERE
Help us write a new chapter in Caribbean history with The Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival! All funds collected as part of this campaign will be used to bring writers to Brooklyn, NY and promote the Caribbean literary community.
Your contribution is greatly appreciated!
